In Their Own Words

February 04, 1733

First Sunday Service in Georgia

Peter Gordon kept a journal of the first Georgia colonists’ voyage to and arrival in Georgia; on this day he described the first Sunday service held in Georiga, and some notables who attended:

“Sunday the fourth, we hade Divine Service performed in Mr. Oglethorps tent, by Reverend Doctor Herbert with thanksgiving for our safe arrivall. Mr. Musgrove, the Indian trader, and his wife were present, and Tomo Chachi, the Indian King, desired to be admitted, which Mr. Oglethorp readily consented to and he with his Queen were seated in the tent. During the time of Divine Service, severall of the Indian warriors and others sate at a small distance from the tent, upon trees, and behaved very decently.”

Source: Our First Visit in America: Early Reports from the Colony of Georgia, 1732-1740 (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1974), p. 14.